Aryn Sanderson
arynsanderson.md@gmail.com
The easiest part of New Year’s resolutions? Making them. The hardest? Keeping them.
Today is National Ditch Your New Year’s Resolution Day. But if you haven’t broken your 2013 resolution yet, these smart phone apps — and their real-life Cal Poly equivalents — will help you follow through.
Resolution #1: Eat healthier
App: Fooducate Plus (free)
It doesn’t take an app to prove that spinach is healthy and cake isn’t, but what about your favorite brand of peanut butter? Unless you’re a food science major, nutrition labels can be confusing. Scan your food’s barcode, and Fooducate flags excess sugar, bad fats, additives and even controversial food dyes. With an excuse-proof grading system (spinach gets an A, cake mix gets a D and Jif Peanut Butter gets a C+), your grocery cart will never be the same.
Cal Poly resource: Health Enrichment Action Team (H.E.A.T.)
H.E.A.T. offers free one-on-one consultations. Bring in a record of your past day’s food intake, and they’ll analyze your eating habits and offer suggestions for improvement.
Resolution #2: Get ripped
App: GymPact (free)
With GymPact, if you skip a workout, you’ll pay. Earn cash for showing up to workouts, paid for by those who skip out on their swoll sessions. Users choose how many times a week they pledge to hit the gym and how much they’ll get charged for ditching. The app uses a phone’s GPS to make sure users stay at the gym for at least 30 minutes. Sure, you could drag your butt all the way to the gym and sit there for half an hour just to trick the app, but why bother? There’s no better motivator than money.
Cal Poly resource: TRX Training Instructional Classes at the Rec Center
If your resolution’s success hangs in the balance, you should too. TRX, Total Resistance eXercise, is a suspension-training program offered at the Cal Poly Recreation Center. It leverages gravity and body weight for a full-body workout.
Business administration junior Melanie Ulrich, a certified instructor, teaches TRX classes.
“TRX tones without adding bulk and helps you use muscle groups you otherwise wouldn’t with traditional methods,” Ulrich said. “By committing to TRX classes a couple times a week, Cal Poly students should find themselves stronger, more toned and healthier.”
The TRX training class is offered at the Recreation Center on Mondays and Wednesdays from 12:15 to 1 p.m. or 8 to 8:45 p.m. with a $30 enrollment fee.
Resolution #3: Spice it up
App: SexCal (free)
Set the phone on your bed and get busy. SexCal measures the duration of each raunchy romp. It also counts calories burned between the sheets based on the motion of the ocean, encouraging you to put your sexual stamina to the test.
Cal Poly resource: Let’s Talk Sex and more
Attend Let’s Talk Sex group discussions for women put on by Cal Poly’s Safer and Gender Equity Center. For those who don’t identify as female, try listening to KCPR’s “Getting It In” sex talk radio show. If you want to “whip” your sex life into shape, shimmy up to the second floor Good Reads section of Robert E. Kennedy Library to sneak a peek at the BDSM bestseller “50 Shades of Grey.” Studying just got steamier.
Resolution #4: Adventure more
App: AllTrails (free)
With AllTrails, you can take the road less traveled. Filter more than 40,000 trails in North America by location and difficulty, and view topographic trail maps even if you hit areas with no coverage.
Cal Poly resource: Poly Escapes
Escape the mundane with a student-led outdoor trip. A snowshoe hike, surfing camp-out and an ice-climbing excursion are on the horizon. Newcomers will be in good hands. Trip leaders are certified in CPR/AED and Wilderness First Aid.
“All of Poly Escapes’ activities are geared toward beginners with little or no experience,” trip leader and computer software engineering junior Doug Guastaferro said. “These activities give students the chance to get out of San Luis Obispo and out of the desks they’ve been sitting in all week and go on some adventures.”
Resolution #5: Make a difference
App: PayItForward ($0.99)
PayItForward sends a daily suggestion of an act of kindness. Users track their progress, share with friends and family and make a direct difference in their community.
Cal Poly resource: Change the Status Quo
Sign up for the 11th Annual Change the Status Quo conference on Feb. 23. The conference aims to give participants the information and tools needed to be effective advocates for change.
“Change the Status Quo helps students take a role in shaping their community,” youth programs director and graphic communication senior Rachel Wallace said.
Last year’s workshops included “How to End Homelessness in 7 Days” and “Jack in the Box: Sexual Assault and Stereotypical Masculinity.”